Ho Lok-sang says the district election shows radical leaders are out of favor, and the opposition camp should realize that Hong Kong needs more politically moderate figures

This district election is of particular interest for a number of reasons. It is the first major election since the illegal "Occupy Central" movement emerged. It has attracted the highest voting rate ever, and it has the highest number of registered voters ever. All district council seats are now open for elections for the first time. Some results came as no surprise. Other results were, however, quite a big surprise.

The main message that comes across from the district election results is that voters are disgusted with radicalism. None among the nine candidates under People Power has succeeded, and none of the five candidates under the League of Social Democrats (LSD) won a seat. As it happens, People Power and the LSD are the most radicalized political forces in Hong Kong. The results show Hong Kong people do not like disruptive behavior in the political arena.

Within the pro-establishment camp, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong's (DAB) loss of 18 seats compared with 2011 is a big surprise. Even though the DAB still got the biggest number of seats, totaling 118 - still commanding a big lead over the biggest party among the "pan-democrats", the Democratic Party - two of its senior members, namely Elizabeth Quat and Christopher Chung Shu-kun, lost their seats, one to a Labour Party member and the other to an "umbrella soldier" who is a novice in politics. The DAB's loss is significant. It shows that even veteran politicians and incumbents must not take favorable results for granted. The pro-establishment camp, fortunately, has been buttressed by the four additional seats gained by the New People's Party, which won a total of 26 seats.

Within the "pan-democrat" camp, former chairman of the Democratic Party Albert Ho Chun-yan and Fung Kin-kee, former chairman of the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, both lost - the former to Junius Ho Kwan-yiu and the latter to Joephy Chan Wing-yan. Both winners are new to the political scene, although Junius Ho is a former president of the Hong Kong Law Society.

All in all, "pan-democrats" won 120 seats while the pro-establishment camp won 298 seats. These results exclude those who claim independence. On balance, there is no serious change in the balance of power. The pro-establishment camp still holds a clear majority of seats at local level.

There will be many new faces in the district councils when they take office in January 2016. This is a good thing. On average the age of the new cohort of district council members will be lower.

Radicalism is now clearly demonstrated to be hated by Hong Kong's voters. This is in line with the results of a survey sponsored by former Civic Party member Ronny Tong Ka-wah's new think tank Path of Democracy, which found seven out of 10 of Hong Kong people believe that the SAR needs more politically moderate figures. If "pan-democrats" and their supporters believe in electoral democracy, they should take heed. The "umbrella soldiers" who won the election, in particular, must take heed. They are now holding responsible positions that are quite different from their former roles as street fighters. They must take the longer term and wider interests of Hong Kong to heart or they will be thrown out in the next election.

The pro-establishment camp also has to be warned. The rise of the "umbrella soldiers" and the huge success of the Neo Democrats, which gained 15 seats out of the 16 that were contested, mean that this emerging force must be reckoned with.

From what I know, the "umbrella soldiers" who won are not taking a radical line. Instead, they are facing up to local issues and bringing new ideas to tackle them. If they had taken a radical line, they probably would not have been elected. It is important for the pro-establishment camp to work with them cordially and with their hearts focused on the interests of residents and of Hong Kong.

For any political party, and for any particular candidate, winning an election is not the most important thing - it is serving Hong Kong to the best of their ability. Only when this spirit of service is clear to voters can the party hope to win their trust.

(HK Edition 11/24/2015 page4)